Auto racing: Drivers welcome patients to Mid-Ohio

Saturday

Aug 17, 2013 at 12:01 AMAug 17, 2013 at 10:46 AM

LEXINGTON, Ohio - Although there is a race to be won and a season points competition in play, the drivers in this afternoon's Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course have the bigger picture in mind, too.

Tim May, The Columbus Dispatch

LEXINGTON, Ohio - Although there is a race to be won and a season points competition in play, the drivers in this afternoon's Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course have the bigger picture in mind, too.That was obvious in Elliott Sadler's paddock area after practice yesterday, as he gave Caden Bowers a tour. Conversely, Caden, 9, from Yorktown, Va., likely could give Sadler an expert tour of Nationwide Children's Hospital, where he spent much time the past four years commuting for treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Sadler, from the same area of Virginia, saw this weekend as an opportunity to give Caden and his family a free trip to the inaugural Nationwide Series race benefiting the hospital. Caden, alternating between smiles and overwhelmed stares, not only got Sadler's undivided attention, he also sat in his race car for a while and received several gifts, including a racing helmet.

"I am so honored to have him come out and be part of our race team," said Sadler, who's fourth in the series points standings and is one of several drivers playing host to patients. "Our sponsor, OneMain Financial, heard about him and decided to have him and his family fly out. … I am excited for him to get to experience this weekend after all he had been through."

Grant Reed, 12, who gained fame last year when it was learned he had named his cancer "Michigan" and then beat it while being treated at Nationwide Children's Hospital, is the grand marshal today. From nearby Bellville, Grant will give the "drivers, start your engines" command. Those keeping up with his story know that not only did Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer visit him in the hospital, but Michigan coach Brady Hoke has invited Grant and his family to be his guests at The Game in November in Ann Arbor.

Once the green flag drops at 2:50 p.m., though, the attention will be on the cars and the drivers as 40 begin their jostle for position on the tight, 2.25-mile, 13-turn road course. That's when it could get "wild," as driver Brian Vickers put it.

The IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio a couple of weeks ago went full-course caution-free for the second straight year, but Vickers smiled when asked whether the stock cars could do the same.

"I don't think you can say it's zero chance because anything is possible, but if there is such thing as a 0.1 percent chance that we're going to go caution-free, that's about what it's going to be," he said.

Nationwide points leader Austin Dillon and Marcos Ambrose, a regular in Sprint Cup, are counting on a little mayhem. Dillon was named to take the place of the injured Tony Stewart in the Sprint Cup race in Brooklyn, Mich., this weekend, and because of an important practice, he and Ambrose won't be on hand when qualifying ensues here this morning. They will take a one-hour helicopter ride to Mid-Ohio, planning to arrive well before the race, but they will have to start in the back of the field because of missing qualifying.

"It's a pretty big strain, but it's something we can accomplish and have a good race in both of them," Dillon said.

He had a full day to find his groove at Mid-Ohio on Thursday, a test day afforded to all teams since it was their first exposure to the road course.

"That's one of the reasons we decided to go ahead and do this (two races), because of the test day," Dillon said. "And starting in the back was not going to penalize us to the point where we needed to stay and qualify."

Although Sam Hornish Jr. could be the prime beneficiary of Dillon having to start in the back, trailing Dillon by just three points in the season standings, he understood the points leader's thinking and also the opportunity in driving Stewart's car.

"I feel like you can win this race from anywhere if you have a good car," said Hornish, who was fastest in the final practice yesterday. "And their goal probably is to get out of here with a top 10."